392 cals
plus overnight chilling
Serves 4
8 peppers
75 ml (5 tbsp) olive oil
2 onions, skinned and chopped 4 garlic cloves, skinned and crushed
350 g (12 oz) tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
15 ml (1 tbsp) tomato puree
3 ml (1 tsp) sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
45 ml (3 tbsp) chopped fresh coriander
225 g (8 oz) Italian risotto rice
2.5 ml tsp ground cinnamon
150 ml water
hot garlic bread, to serve
Methods:
Cut a slice off the top of each / pepper and reserve. Remove the cores, seeds and membranes and discard. Wash peppers, pat dry.
Heat 60 ml (4 tbsp) of the oil in a large frying pan, add the peppers and fry gently for 10 minutes, turning them frequently so that they soften and colour on all sides. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
Make the stuffing. Drain off J all but 30 ml (2 tbsp) oil from the pan, then add the onion and erarlic and fry very gently for about i5 minutes.
Lower the heat, add the tomato puree, sugar and salt and pepper to taste and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped fresh coriander and the risotto rice. Spoon the stuffing into the peppers, dividing it equally between them.
Stand the peppers close together in a heavy-based pan or casserole into which they just fit. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, then the remaining 15 ml (1 tbsp) oil. Put the reserved ‘lids’ on top.
Pour the water into the base of the pan, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover with a plate or saucer which just fits inside the rim of the pan, then place heavy weights on top.
Simmer gently for 1 hour, then to remove from the heat and leave to cool. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, still with the weights on top. Serve the peppers chilled, with hot garlic bread.
When buying peppers for this recipe, look for squat ones which are of a uniform shape and size so that they will stand upright for serving. For a pretty effect, make sure to buy as many different colours as possible.
Sometimes peppers are sold under the name ‘capsicum’, and the red ones are also called `pimientoes’, but they are all from the same family. The dif- ference between the different colours is in their botanical variety and degree of ripeness: green peppers become red when they are fully ripe, yellow and purple peppers were white before they became ripe! If you like peppers to taste sweet, then choose red or purple ones.